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3G auction: Bidding closes with expected revenue of over Rs 677 billion
NEW DELHI: With the government concluding the auction for 3G in the 34th day, the total revenue to the exchequer is expected to be Rs 677,189.5 million.
The pan-India figure at the end of 183 rounds today was Rs 167,505.8 million. However, the Communications and Information Technology Ministry said the auction results are provisional and subject to approval by the Government. Frequencies in MHz were also allocated to the successful bidders.
The government had hoped to collect Rs 35,000 million after auctioning the airwaves for both 3G services and broadband, even as the bidding for the latter is expected to commence on 22 May. Thus, the pan-India licence has gone up by nearly 378.58 per cent over the base price.
However, no single player won a pan-India licence for 3G services and the number of top bidders was three or four at each of the 22 service centres. With the exception of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, and Jammu and Kashmir which had four successful bidders, the other 18 service centres had three successful bidders.
The successful bidders were Bharti Airtel (13 service centres), Reliance (12 centres), Aircel (11 centres), Idea Cellular (11 centres), Tata Teleservices (nine centres), Vodafone Essar (eight centres), and S Tel (three centres). Interestingly, Etisalat DB Telecom and Videocon Telecommunications which also participated in the auction could not win a single circle.
Delhi had the highest bid of Rs 33,169.3 million each from Vodaphone, Bharti and Reliance while Mumbai had a bid of Rs 32,470.7 million each from Reliance, Vodafone and Bharti. The frequencies allocated are in the range of 1959-1964 MHz.
1969-1974 MHz, and 1974-1979 MHz. Karnataka came next with Rs.15,799.1 million, followed by Tamil Nadu with Rs.14649.4 million.
Ministry sources said Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd which have already been issued airwaves for 3G services will also have to pay this winner‘s price, collectively pegged at Rs.167,505.8 million. Jammu and Kashmir had the lowest bid at Rs.303 million.
The auction was held on all days starting 9 April except Sundays and national holidays.
The winning firms will have to deposit the money within 10 days from now and will be allowed to offer 3G services on a commercial basis from Sep 1.
Global investment bank Rothschild and telecom auction services provider dot.econ advised the government on the auctions.
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Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
